Focus on Your Target Customers When Designing a Website
A website is a channel through which your brand engages with existing and prospective customers.
Some small business owners view building a website as another item on their checklist, right next to business cards. For them, having one suffices.
We view websites differently. For us, a website is a channel through which your brand engages with existing and prospective customers.
Besides a website, there are other channels too. Social media like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest are great ways to connect with different customer segments. Printed flyers, postcards, or an ad in a newspaper can also work well to reach specific demographics.
But none of these channels offer the flexibility a website does. For interior designers, it can showcase their portfolio; for event managers, it can function as a portal to book new clients; for bloggers, it can store your entire content; and for retailers, it can serve as an online store. The possibilities are almost endless.
Turn Your Website Into a Powerful Marketing Hub: If your website doesn’t play an important role in your marketing strategy yet, consider turning it into a powerful marketing hub for your social media posts and newsletters.
What If an Online Store Doesn’t Work for Your Business: Client management software can help small businesses to succeed online. Here is how.
Define Your Brand First
For a website to be effective as a channel, it has to be consistent with your brand.
Use the same logo, icons, typefaces, color scheme, and photographic style. If you want to include videos on your site, they have to follow the same brand guidelines.
Designing a website is all about creatively but consistently applying your brand's visual and verbal design elements.
That's why I recommend defining your brand before working on your website or posting on social media. Because if you don't, your brand could be perceived as scattered and messy and not develop the strength it would otherwise have.
What Is a Brand Compass and Why Your Business Should Have One: A brand compass is a crucial tool to anchor your brand decisions and ensure coherence across all brand elements.
What Is Your Brand Promise? Like a solemn pledge you take, a brand promise commits your company to deliver on this promise every single time. Follow these three steps to create a compelling brand promise.
5 Reasons Why You Should Strengthen Your Brand Personality: Investing in your brand personality could lead to a much stronger brand, increasing the value premium customers are ready to pay for your products and services.
Why Your Visual Brand Identity Matters: Use different visual design elements to create a website with a memorable signature look — a unique visual brand identity.
How to Think About Logos: Logos are intrinsically linked to the brands they identify and help shape how these brands are perceived by those who interact with them.
Why You Should Avoid Intricate Logos: Intricate logos can become unrecognizable when you scale them down. Before you start designing logo, think about the many ways you could use it, such as in social media, on your website, or as a printed banner.
Appeal to Your Target Customers
Part of branding — the act of shaping your brand — is defining the customer segments your brand wants to appeal to.
In general, you want your brand, and by extension your website, to appeal to the person making the buying decision. But not always. It also depends on the type of products and services you are selling and who will use them. If your brand sells beauty products for women, your website's visual brand design elements will likely be more feminine, with pink or pastel color schemes and elegant typefaces.
On the other hand, interior designers creating spaces for men and women or different industries like restaurants and doctor offices may require a website that offers dedicated web pages for each design application under one coherent site structure.
Brand Coherence and Clear Customer Focus Will Elevate Your Brand
I know building a website quickly, being done with it, and getting this item off your checklist is tempting.
But it is a missed opportunity.
Instead, start with defining your brand. Then, when designing your website, focus on your target customers.
That way, you present your brand coherently across multiple channels while you appeal to your target customers through the same look and feel, whether they read your social media posts, see one of your newspaper ads, or visit your website. Over time this brand coherence and clear customer focus will elevate your brand and drive more business.
9 in 10 People Buy From Brands They Follow on Social Media: If your business is not visible on social media, chances are you will miss a significant opportunity to draw attention to your brand and increase brand awareness and brand loyalty.
Is Your Business a Good Fit for Social Media? Creating a steady flow of social media posts is easier for many retailers. Before you begin, consider these aspects that drive user engagement.
